“Stolen Dick” Poe and the case of the Phantom CIB….

I hope for the positive, by this Valor Vulture getting busted on a national television show it will bring this serious crime against Vets and Service men and women to the forefront and push the Supreme court off their asses and quit petting people like this and make it a felony crime punishable by prison and fines, to date it is all just a smack in the face to all those who have served honorably and to those who have died defending our nation and constitution…… I hope that they let him walk out on stage, stand there a minute, don’t let him sing, and just tell him “NO” and then tell him why as he gets “booed” off the stage….fitting end to his musical career….

93 Spade: He’s changed his story at least once. He originally said his back was broken when an RPG hit his vehicle. Now he’s changed his story and says it happened after he volunteered for hero duty and saw a guy with a launcher. According to Tim, he thought nothing for his own safety and rushed to cover his “guys” from the blast. What a hero. This jerk is a championship bullshitter. http://www.wfaa.com/news/Charity-helps-disabled-veterans-get-back-into-the-workforce-155855655.html

So much for the Army Values.
Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless-Service, Honor, Integrity. Personal Courage
I’m not sure how a human being could be devoid of all of these things, but he has managed it.

I wonder if he got the stutter after he fell off the truck an not by the RPG?

In a year this will all be firgotten and Tim Poe will get on with his life. I suggest you get on with yours.

Gallagher Fan-yes, most of America will forget this douche. But we won’t and that’s what matters. All he had to do was go on the show and say “I was hurt in Afghanistan and had to medically retire from the service” (all of which would have been reasonably enough true and would have gotten him the credit he was after) but instead he had to make himself more than he is. Whatever you may think of that, most of us here believe that such behavior is way out of bounds and we intend to make sure he doesn’t benefit from it.

Actually, the devices are not stars, they are Oak Leaf Clusters. On the Army Commendation Medal (ACM) he has one Silver Oak Leaf device; on the Army Achievement Medal (AAM), he has one Silver and two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters. The claim is that he was awarded the ACM six times and the AAM eight times; all for merit and none for valor since there are no V (valor) devices. That’s a total of 14 merit decorations over a 20 year career, a significant part of which was in the reserves. Though not impossible, it’s unbelievable for an Army Staff Sergeant. For merit, none of the 14 awards, except maybe the last one, can overlap their time periods for which service was meritorious enough for those awards. They are much more difficult to earn while in reserve status. That means he would have been decorated for meritorious service about once every year over 14 years to about once every year and three months over 20 years. To do that once or twice is rare. To do that 14 times in one career strains credulity. A person with that much merit in service would have been justifiably and certainly submitted for a Meritorious Service Medal (the non-combat equivalent of a Bronze Star Medal), or, although highly unlikely unless it were incredibly exceptional merit in a position of exceptional responsibility, the Legion of Merit, for the sum total of the career achievement and awarded at retirement. How he would have been that meritorious without being promoted beyond Staff Sergeant or being given a Warrant Commission lacks credibility. I have an Air Force Commendation Medal (AFCM) with First Oak Leaf Cluster. I accumulated two AFCMs over four years of active enlisted service immediately after the Vietnam era, a relatively quiet but very tense cold-war era. For my time in service and rank, two AFCMs without at least one for valor was rare. I can tell you that I was the only junior enlisted person (E-4/NCO) on the AFB with two. When I made E-5, there were a couple of others my rank around… Read more »

@Ex-PH2 – Yup! Poe has enough singing talent to do well at it if he just hadn’t lied about his military career. He’s very typical of some vets I’ve met who were in rear-echelon support jobs, such as postal, clerical, logistics or supply roles during Vietnam, some in Vietnam, but who make all kinds of false claims about being Rangers, Green Berets, Navy Seals, some special forces type or former POW with all kinds of significant decorations, none of which are true. Instead, the realities are that they adequately performed in non-glamorous jobs and, after returning, realized that they had little to show for their average performance. They desparately want the recognition and value significant earned decorations have for others, who did heroic and valorous acts or gave or made distinguished meritorious service or achievements, sometimes with distinction. The military doesn’t just recognize combat, gallantry, valor or heroism. It also recognizes a large range of achievements and service ranging from outstanding to uniquely meritorious with dinstinction. Anyone in the military can earn at least some kind of recognition for meritorious achievements and service. It just takes the will to achieve and serve beyond your ordinary honorable duty. One may have to ignore the criticism and ostracism from peers who don’t see merit in and can’t stand to see anyone else get credit for being better than ordinary. One of the lessons from Poe is that the time to be better than ordinary is always the present time. Another lesson from Poe is that history is too late to change, but there is always the future. Poe could have truthfully characterized his honorable service, his service related injury(ies) and his discharge for them and received his just due for efficiency, hornor and faithfulness of service, which is not as worthless as he may believe. His obvious talents for music, performance and entertainment could have been celebrated. His greatest challenge will be how to become extraordinary in the wake of his recent past.

“Poe was assigned to med hold on 24 April 2010 and released 08 April 2011.” **whistles** I was a bonus baby, so a broken arm sent me to the PEBD. “He is fine, back to the infantry. It’ll take 3 months for orders, son.” Those 3 months were a little peek at college weekends, if you catch me drift. I almost forgot what the Army was like.